Trump says he 'gets along very well' with Dr. Anthony Fauci despite reports of tension

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Trump says he 'gets along very well' with Dr. Anthony Fauci despite reports of tension
Trump and Fauci March 20

Alex Wong/Getty Images

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President Donald Trump listens to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, at a White House briefing on March 20

  • President Donald Trump said his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci is good amid reports that Trump is frustrated with Fauci's blunt public comments on the coronavirus that clash with Trump's messaging.
  • When Fox News host Bill Hemmer asked Trump, "Is everything cool with you and Dr. Fauci?," at a Fox News coronavirus town hall, Trump responded, "We get along very well. He has other things to do."
  • Fauci has consistently been one of the most public-facing and trusted voices on the coronavirus crisis - sometimes at odds with the White House's more optimistic messaging in doing so.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump sought to quell rumors of tension between him and Dr. Anthony Fauci in a Tuesday afternoon Fox News town hall.

On Monday, The New York Times reported that Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Fauci's blunt assessments of the coronavirus crisis, and "his patience is wearing thin" with Fauci publicly contradicting Trump on several aspects of the administration's response, from the severity of the crisis to the availability and effectiveness of treatments.

When Fox News host Bill Hemmer asked Trump, "Is everything cool with you and Dr. Fauci?," at the town hall Trump responded, "Oh, absolutey. We get along very well. He has other things to do," referring to Fauci's absence from the last several coronavirus task force briefings at the White House.

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Dr. Fauci, a legendary figure in public health and Director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, has served under six presidents since 1984 in various capacities.

Fauci has consistently been one of the most public-facing and trusted voices on the coronavirus crisis - sometimes at odds with the White House's more optimistic messaging in doing so.

Both in congressional hearings and public press briefings, Fauci has painted a much more sobering picture of the virus than Trump, frequently warning that the US is severely hampered in its response because of the lack of testing and that the US hasn't faced the worst of the virus yet.

In March 13 testimony before Congress, Fauci said "I can tell you absolutely that I tell the president, the vice president and everyone on the task force what exactly the scientific data is and what the evidence is...I have never, ever held back telling exactly what is going on from a public health standpoint."

In an interview with Science Magazine published on Sunday, Fauci said "to [Trump's] credit, even though we disagree on some things, he listens. He goes his own way. He has his own style. But on substantive issues, he does listen to what I say."

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When pressed specifically on what he does when Trump repeats wrong information, Fauci said, "The next time they sit down with him and talk about what he's going to say, they will say, "By the way, Mr. President, be careful about this and don't say that." But I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down."

Fauci also told The Atlantic that he has a good working relationship with the White House and doesn't fear he'll be sidelined, saying, "I don't think they're going to try to silence me. I think that would be foolish on their part...I'm going to keep doing it. And no matter what happens to me, I'm going to keep doing it."

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